27 percent of Pinoys experienced or saw cheating in relationships

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The Philippine Star

February 14, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — One in four Filipinos either personally experienced or witnessed some form of cheating in relationships, according to a survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The survey, conducted from Nov. 24 to 30 and released this week ahead of Valentine’s Day, found that 27 percent of the respondents personally witnessed or experienced some form of cheating in a relationship.

Seventy percent said they have not.

Of those who personally witnessed or experienced cheating, 11 percent identified these as physical or those who engaged in sexual and intimate activities with someone else.

Another 11 percent said it was emotional cheating, which involved talking with another person about a problem instead of with one’s own partner, or having romantic feelings for another person even though there is no physical relationship.

Six percent identified “cyber cheating,” or having other social media accounts without the partner’s knowledge or secretly chatting with other people, and “object cheating,” which is giving too much attention to games, cellphone or other material objects that one no longer has time for their partner.

Five percent said they experienced or witnesses financial cheating, such as hiding luxury purchases or hiding debts from one’s partner, and micro-cheating, such as using affectionate terms with someone other than one’s partner or hiding one’s relationship status.

Eight percent said they experienced two or more types of cheating.

Asked if trust can still be restored in a relationship after someone cheats, 43 percent said it is possible, while 36 percent said it cannot. The remaining 19 percent were undecided.

The survey had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus three percent.